Print-developing apparatus.



T. W. HOLCOMB.

PRINT DEVELOPING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. 1, 191.4.

1,125,09 Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

TEOMASW. HOLCOMB, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

PRINT-DEVELOPING APPAEATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

Original application filed March 21, 1913, Serial No. 755,991. Divided and this annlication filed April 1,

1914. Serial No. 828,811.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. HOLCOMB, a citizen of the United States residing at Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Print- Developing Apparatus, of'which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to lmprovements in that class of photographic apparatus set forth in my copending application, Serial No. 7 55,991, filed March 21, 1913, of which this is a division.

The object in view of the present invention is to provide a special form of conveyer mechanism designed to guide and support sensitized paper through a bath for developing the print or prints thereon, said conveyer limiting sagging of the paper under weight of its bath and embodying supporting elements which perform a dual function in that they act to stir the bath in their travel within the receptacle containing the same.

For a full understanding of the present invention, reference is to be had to the following description and to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1- is a sectional view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view partly in section of one of the yieldable supporting fingers secured to the guide and conveyer; and Fig. 4 is a plan view thereof, a certain part being shown in section.

Throughout the following detail description and on the several figures of the drawin similar parts are referred to by like re erence characters.

Specifically describing my inventlon and referring to the drawings, 1 designates a tank or reservoir to contain the developing bath for the blue print aper 2 which is fed into the tank 1 in the fiirm of a continuous strip or separate sheets around the feed roller or cylinder'3, said cylinder being disposed within the reservoir 1, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, upon the shaft 4, having its bearings preferably. in the sides of said reservoir. The cylinder 3 may be of wood or metallic material and has secured to its ends large driving sprockets 5 while the shaft 4 has secured thereto a 5 sprocket or gear wheel 6 around which passes a driving chain 7, said chain being actuated by any suitable driving means, not shown.

It will be obvious that the paper 2 passing around the cylinder 3 is held in juxtaposed relation to said cylinder by means of an endless guldlng apron or conveyor 13. This conveyer 13 1s composed of a pair of chains or endless belting connected transversely by means of a plurality of slats or bars 14:, said chains passing around a set of sprocket wheels 15, there being preferably, as shown 1n the drawings, four arranged at each end of the cylinder 3. The lowermost of these sprockets 15 are disposed within the developmg bath and the conveyor passes beneath the same, then upwardly over one of the upper set of sprockets, beneath the large drive sprockets 5, and over the other upper sprocket 15.

The conveyor 13, as will be obvious from Fig. 1 of the drawings, is thus arranged in spaced relation to the feed roller 3 and to hold the paper, as well as guide the same around said roller, I preferably provide each of the bars 14 with a plurality of guiding fingers 16 arranged in staggered relation, as seen in Fig. 2, said fingers being ad justably secured to the bars so as to permit their proper disposition upon the conveyer. Each of' these fingers, furthermore, has mounted in its free end a roller bearing 16 against which the paperrests as itis supported by said fingers in its travel around the roll 3, the contact of the paper with the fingers being of a yieldable nature, by virtue of the mounting of said fingers on the conveyer so as to permit the expansion of the paper as it absorbs the moisture from the bath while, at the same time, limiting the sagging action due to Weight of its bath. As the paper 2 reaches the rear uppermost portion of the feed roll 3, it is taken therefrom by the guide plate 25 supported by the framework 17 in any desired manner, the paper being preferably conveyed to drying apparatus, which forming no part of the resent invention, is 'not described herein, but may be of any conventional form or such as described in my previous application hereinbefore mentioned. During the course of travel of the conveyer'13 through the developing medium, the fingers 16 act as stirrers which is an advantageous feature of my device and facilitates the proper action of nieanee the bath on the blue print passing there bathmeans for limiting sagging of the w through.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. In a blue print finishing machine, the combination of a receptacle for containing a bath, means for limiting sagging of the print under weight of its bath, said means comprising a movable support mounted within the bath and means on said support for stirring the bath during movement of said support 2. In a blue print finishing machine the combination of a receptacle for containing a print under weight of its bath, said means comprising an endless carrier mounted within the bath, and fingers on, the carrier adapted to hold the print in one portion of travel of the carrier in the bath and to stir the bath in another portion of its travel.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS W. HOLCOMB. 

